They bring up the lack of gender equality around the cabinet table. The fact there are proportionately far more female MPs on the opposition benches than the government. And the stereotype of the “gentleman’s club” in a Conservative Party run by the “Bullingdon boys.”

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By the end of this week, however, it could become far harder to paint Labour as the party championing women in Westminster.

Conservative MPs are currently deciding which leadership candidate to back, whittling down the candidates to the final two before the ultimate choice goes to the party membership. It’s particularly important because, of course, that person will not only become Conservative Party leader but Prime Minister.

The voting is underway and as the tallies ratchet up, there’s a high chance that the final two candidates will be Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and Andrea Leadsom, leave campaigner and energy minister.

At the risk of stating the blatantly obvious: they are both women.

The Conservatives delivered the UK its first – and to date only – female Prime Minister in Margaret Thatcher. She is often derided by the left as an anti-woman anomaly – a blip in the Tory Party’s otherwise poor record on female representation.

The only problem with that argument is, they may be about to do it again.

Yes, it’s important of course to recognise the significant achievements the party has pushed through in the field of women’s rights, from Barbara Castle’s equal pay legislation to Harriet Harman’s equality act.

Can Labour really claim to be the party of equality, when they have failed to elect a female leader?

All women shortlists – introduced under Tony Blair – were a shot in the arm for the sluggish female representation in parliament, until then stalling for decades.

Both Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn have patted themselves on the back after offering up shadow cabinets with equal numbers of women and men. Just because a politician is a woman, doesn’t mean she is good for women, and male leaders can prioritise women’s rights, too.

And yet the facts remain: the Conservative Party has already delivered a female Prime Minister and looks on course to propel a second woman to Downing Street. The Labour Party has never elected a female leader, only allowing Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman to temporarily keep the seat warm until a man was voted in.

What’s the excuse? It’s no longer down to a lack of women MPs putting their names forward.

Parliamentarians as diverse as Margaret Beckett, Yvette Cooper, Mary Creagh, Diane Abbott and Liz Kendall have thrown their hats in the ring. Some of the towering MPs of the last century have been female – Barbara Castle is the obvious example. There are more Labour women than Conservative women currently in parliament – 99 out of 232, compared to 68 out of 331.

The last week has shown us that politics can transform incredibly quickly. This article may be out of date almost by the time it’s written.

Angela Eagle, the former Shadow Business Secretary, has vowed to run for the Labour leadership if Jeremy Corbyn refuses to stand down.

Labour’s first elected women leader may not be far away, after all.

But remember. Jeremy Corbyn still commands the support of hundreds of thousands of party members. Owen Smith, the former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, is contemplating challenging Angela in any leadership contest.